


Betrayal

by myhamsterisademon



Series: Tumblr Works [6]
Category: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo | Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-12 23:05:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14737493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myhamsterisademon/pseuds/myhamsterisademon
Summary: Love has no place in war. Love has no place in the army. Lust, maybe, between comrades when no women are near – but love, that burning sensation that maddens, that feeling of having no longer a life of your own, it has not its place in the army.





	Betrayal

Love has no place in war. Love has no place in the army. Lust, maybe, between comrades when no women are near – but love, that burning sensation that maddens, that feeling of having no longer a life of your own, it has not its place in the army.

Many of Fernand’s comrades had a mistress, some of them a lover, although these were just whispered rumors when the young boys thought that their officers were asleep. 

Fernand was one of them; one of the officers who don’t sleep at night. He had stopped trying to get some rest a long time ago – even when he had grown used, almost insensitive to the horrors of war (in the first few battles he witnessed, he had thought he would go mad with fear and terror, the smell of blood in his nostrils and his companions dying around him), even then, sleep would not reach him anymore.

At first it had been because of the tension: Fernand had to be alert at all times, always ready to jump up and start a new fight. The fear of getting slaughtered in his sleep, of having his throat slit while he couldn’t react would keep him awake night and day, his heart perpetually hammering in his chest.

And, maybe, it had been the shame, for a while – but that had been quite short. Fernand knew no regrets or remorse.

Now, however, something else kept him awake: a woman and a question. 

The woman was called Haydée, and she was beautiful, regal and quiet. Did Fernand love her? No.

But was he ready to sacrifice her to money, power, respect and position? No. 

He had done this before, a life for a love – but Haydée was different. She was calming, wise in her way, sweet and meek, a balm for his aching, throbbing, always doubtful soul. She was no Edmond, she could be spared and nothing would change in Fernand’s plan.

Now, years later, as he sits in his office – cast away by his son and wife, the pistol in his hands – even now, he does not regret the only act of mercy he has ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> From [ this](https://monte-cristo-incorrect-quotes.tumblr.com/tagged/yeah-okay-this-sucks) prompt


End file.
